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Dummy police cars not so dumb

Cpl. David Melancon of the Thibodaux Police Department parks a ghost car Tuesday on Canal Boulevard.

Abby Tabor/Staff

Jean-Paul ArguelloStaff Writer

Published: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 10:15 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 10:15 p.m.

Everyone has seen them. An empty police car is placed at an intersection in a ruse to scare motorists to drive safer.

But dummy cars are not such a dumb idea.

“First of all, they're not dummy units,” said David Melancon, spokesman for Thibodaux Police.

Police call them ghost units. Everyday Thibodaux Police parks one to three empty squad cars at strategic locations throughout the city.

It is part of a data-driven approach to reducing danger on the roads that Thibodaux Police call high-visibility policing. Police pool the data showing where accidents are most frequent and speeders more prevalent. Using this data, they place a ghost unit, or two, in strategic intersections in order to deter people from speeding.

“We've actually been able to measure a reduction in the amount of crashes. So that's how we know that our high-visibility (policing) is working,” Melancon said.

According to data provided by Thibodaux Police, crashes are down 10 percent from the previous five years. A study in Accident Analysis & Prevention, a criminal justice academic journal, found that seeing an unmarked police car forces drivers to reduce their speed.

“Even to this day and I see a unit — and I could be in a police unit — the first thing I do is, I look down at my odometer,” Melancon said.

According to Melancon, the payoff is more than worth it. The practice increases the illusion of officers patrolling the roads without having to pay extra salary and benefits to officers.

“You're able to increase the presence of police officers in the community without actually increasing the number of police,” Melancon said.

Officers patrol areas with high accident incident rates during peak hours in order to further reduce the number of accidents, said Melancon. Melancon said most accidents in Thibodaux occur during the lunch hour and between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office also uses ghost units. They are placed in areas with high crime rates and where there have been complaints of speeding vehicles, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dawn Foret. Their use primarily increases during the holiday season.

Terrebonne Sheriff's Office also uses data pooling to determine where to place ghost units.

<p>Everyone has seen them. An empty police car is placed at an intersection in a ruse to scare motorists to drive safer. </p><p>But dummy cars are not such a dumb idea.</p><p>“First of all, they're not dummy units,” said David Melancon, spokesman for Thibodaux Police.</p><p>Police call them ghost units. Everyday Thibodaux Police parks one to three empty squad cars at strategic locations throughout the city.</p><p>It is part of a data-driven approach to reducing danger on the roads that Thibodaux Police call high-visibility policing. Police pool the data showing where accidents are most frequent and speeders more prevalent. Using this data, they place a ghost unit, or two, in strategic intersections in order to deter people from speeding. </p><p>“We've actually been able to measure a reduction in the amount of crashes. So that's how we know that our high-visibility (policing) is working,” Melancon said.</p><p>According to data provided by Thibodaux Police, crashes are down 10 percent from the previous five years. A study in Accident Analysis & Prevention, a criminal justice academic journal, found that seeing an unmarked police car forces drivers to reduce their speed.</p><p>“Even to this day and I see a unit — and I could be in a police unit — the first thing I do is, I look down at my odometer,” Melancon said.</p><p>According to Melancon, the payoff is more than worth it. The practice increases the illusion of officers patrolling the roads without having to pay extra salary and benefits to officers. </p><p>“You're able to increase the presence of police officers in the community without actually increasing the number of police,” Melancon said.</p><p>Officers patrol areas with high accident incident rates during peak hours in order to further reduce the number of accidents, said Melancon. Melancon said most accidents in Thibodaux occur during the lunch hour and between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.</p><p>The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office also uses ghost units. They are placed in areas with high crime rates and where there have been complaints of speeding vehicles, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dawn Foret. Their use primarily increases during the holiday season.</p><p>Terrebonne Sheriff's Office also uses data pooling to determine where to place ghost units. </p><p>“We don't like to stick 'em in random spots,” Foret said.</p>